Only In My Mind
by bazzer
Summary: Strange things are happening to Rogue, can her friends pull through in her time of need?
1. Default Chapter

Kitty slowly walked down the stairwell, Rogue's peculiar behavior crowding her mind. Her roommate was siting on the window sill, as normal, her sketchbook lightly clutched in her hand, but the thing that caught Kitty was the fact that Rogue wasn't moving. She'd just dropped her pencil and hadn't moved a millimeter to pick it up. Kitty had gone as far as to wave her hand in front of her eyes and practically screamed her name for several minutes before Rogue shook her head and shooed Kitty out of the room. Kitty shook her head thinking about Rouge was just way too depressing. However, escaping thoughts of Kitty's only gothic friend was not an easy task.  
  
"...she stopped right in the middle of her answer. I swear man, she was out for like three minutes, every one was laughin' not a pretty sight." Evan looked up at Kitty, giving her a single nod in greetings then returned to his audience, which consisted of Bobby and Kurt. "I think somethin' up, somethin' she ain't tellin' us."  
  
"Are you, like, talking about Rogue?"  
  
"Ya, how'd you know?" asked Bobby.  
  
"She just, like, did the same thing upstairs." She looked around at the faces of the kitchen occupants.  
  
"Do you zink ve should tell ze Prof?"  
  
"Rogue, like, doesn't like going to the Professor for some reason."  
  
"I don't want her to get hurt," commented the Iceman, "If he can help her then we gotta tell him."  
  
"Well, ain't y'all sweet," started a southern tinted voice from behind the four, "Ya jus' go `round talkin' behind peoples backs. Nice way ta say ya care." She gave them a mocking smile then frowned and walked to grab an apple from the fruit basket on the counter behind Bobby. They all noticed her change of clothing for the day. Instead of he normal black skirt and gauze over bra top she wore black jeans and a long-sleeved black sweater type shirt. Of course, she wore black leather gloves to go with it.  
  
"Ve are just vorried about jou mein zizter," replied Kurt to her sarcasm.  
  
Rogue let out a long breath, "Ah know Kurt," she started placing a gloved hand gently on his shoulder, "But ya gotta believe me Ah know how ta take care of mahself."  
  
Kurt lifted his own hand and placed it on top of his sisters, and what happened next surprised not only him but also the rest of the present X-men.  
  
Rogue winced, pulled her hand away, and muttered several curse words under her breath.  
  
Bobby and Evan immediately jumped from their respective seats, dangerously grabbed her forearm, which caused her to nearly scream out in pain, and gently pulled her glove off reveling various small and large cut inflicted onto her hand. But they didn't stop there, oh no, the cuts continued up her arm until they reached her elbow.  
  
She angrily pulled her arm from their grasps and pulled her glove away from Bobby.  
  
"Y'all had no right!"  
  
"Rogue what the hell was that?!" screamed Evan.  
  
"Nuthin'," she muttered, suddenly unable to look any of them in the eyes.  
  
"What would make you do this to yourself!" yelled Kitty.  
  
Had the question not been of such seriousness Rogue would have cracked a joke about Kitty forgetting her valley girl accent. Instead, the currently marred goth replied, "Ah didn't do this ta mahself, Kitty," quite calmly compared to the others.  
  
"You mean someone else did! Who? I'll kill `em!" cried Bobby at the same time Kurt shouted, "Lieber Gott, was meine Schwester geschah! Ich beende, wem überhaupt dies tat!" (trans: Dear God what happened my sister! I will kill who ever did this!)  
  
"Relax, both of ya. Ah can handle it." Rogue frowned, `I hope.'  
  
"Girl, we gotta tell the Prof, he...he'll know what to do."  
  
"NO! Don't tell the Professah anythang! Please." Her eyes were wild, "He can't know. Promise me, no matter what y'all can't tell him."  
  
Kitty studied her friend's eyes. "All right, we, like, promise," she replied evenly.  
  
"WHAT?!" came three male voices.  
  
"I said," Kitty looked at them starting to get angry, "We promise we won't tell. Right?" she growled sounding strangely like Logan.  
  
The three gulped and replied in their own versions of "yes".  
  
"Thank ya guys. Really, it means a lot."  
  
"I swear Scott, if you don't like him just SAY IT!" roared Jean.  
  
"OK *I* //DON'T// *LIKE* //Him//!" retorted Scott, emphasizing each word.  
  
"Bye y'all."  
  
Rogue simply turned and left as Scott and Jean walked into the kitchen arguing with one another.  
  
Kitty turned to look at the three guys that stood company with her, she was scared beyond belief for her friend and in Bobby, Kurt, and Evan's eyes she could see she wasn't alone.  
  
  
  
Look I know I should be working on `Love and Betrayal,' but this just came to me. And besides my current muse was stolen from me in the form on a tournament basketball game. We were so close, a single point in overtime.  
  
And believe me this isn't like Phoenix Angel Suyari `Heaven Can Wait' (which by the way, it you like Rogue fics you should really read), it's my own little twisted idea.  
  
PS: I need help deciding coupling, so please E-mail or review or, hey IM me at ducklling. 


	2. Math Time Mayhem

If there was one thing Bobby prided himself on above everything else in school, it was his math. And even though he was only a freshman he was put in a sophomore math class, better yet, Evan and Rogue's math class. He sat in the fourth out of five rows and proudly answered a question from last night's homework. He got it right of course, and turned to look at the others in the room, some scowled at him while others smiled, like Evan up front, who also flashed him a thumbs up. The human ice-cube turned himself to look at the back row toward Rogue, who looked at him with a fake glare, then smiled one of her rare, real smiles. This sent a low scarlet blush to cross his cheeks.  
  
When he looked at her, again he noticed, with horrified fascination, she sat stock-still. And as his conversation with Kitty, Evan, and Kurt came to mind he grew very scared. He then found himself paralyzed to the spot as he watched a single large red mark cover her throat and four small dots of red grow rapidly on the left side of her neck and one on the right. The wounds seem to come out of no where. A small river of blood pour smoothly out of the corner of her lips, and her eyes hazed over as if she was being strangled. She seemed to finally come to her senses as her head lolled foreword and she began sucking in large quantities of air.  
  
The class was in an uproar, and just before she passed out, Bobby found his legs and rushed to catch her. However, before he could take a step out of his seat, Pietro knelt beside her desk, Rogue clutched gently in his arms.  
  
And even before the teacher had a chance to give a command Pietro had left, running normal speed, toward the door. Bobby leapt to follow, but soon found Evan's arm blocking his way.  
  
"Chill man. He'll get her to safety faster than any of us," he himself seemed reluctant to allow the speed demon go off with such precious cargo as he seethed out the door, but Bobby found wisdom in his words. He sent a fleeting glance out the door, the only thing he saw were a few flying papers left in Pietro's wake.  
  
Needless to say, the rest of Bobby's morning classes didn't go very smoothly.  
  
  
  
When the lunch bell had rung, half of the school's population had heard of Rogue's `attack'. Even though fewer than a fourth of them even knew who Rogue was. But the few who did know, and care, included the members of the X-men and Brotherhood.  
  
Scott and Jean immediately sought out the disgruntled Bobby and overly agitated Evan in the hall.  
  
"What exactly happened?" he asked, worry seeping into `commander tone.'  
  
"Dude, I don't know. First, she's fine, then it looked like she was bein' choked," Evan answered.  
  
"Where is she now?" voiced Jean, "I already checked the nurses office, and she isn't there."  
  
"I don't know," confessed Evan.  
  
"What do mean you don't know?"  
  
"Pietro took her."  
  
"WHAT!?" screamed Scott, receiving strange looks from the crowd around.  
  
"Look Scott," Bobby started, joining the conversation for the first time, "we knew Pietro would take care of her. And he'd get her to safety the fastest," he stated coming to Evan's help.  
  
"Besides, do you think I'd let that jerk touch her any other way?" demanded Evan.  
  
Just before they could reach the cafeteria doors Jean spotted Duncan and left, while Lance found Scott.  
  
"What the hell do you geeks do to her?" her growled, roughly pinning Scott to the lockers behind him.  
  
Scott, who was momentarily stunned by the sudden attack, was too startled to answer.  
  
Bobby was about to come to his rescue when he found himself defying gravity and flowing several feet of the ground. The source, he found, was the Blob who had lifted, not only him but Evan as well, forcefully off the ground by the back of their shirts.  
  
Toad stood, or hunched rather, next to Lance glaring dangerously toward Scott though unholy yellow eyes. Tabby leaned casually against the lockers, carelessly tossing a small `cherrybomb' up and down. She flung it up toward Cyclops and watched it explode hazardously close to his face. Then created another one and began the small ritual over again.  
  
Normally he would have scolded her about being so careless. But hell, this wasn't really his definition of normal by far, and she wasn't his responsibility anymore. Rogue, however, was, and so was his own body.  
  
"Answer me, God Dammit! Where is she?" Lance hissed angrily, picking Scott up and slammed him into the lockers again, leaving a small dent. Ordinarily Scott could over-power Lance, but he seemed fueled by some untapped anger.  
  
Evan seemed to find his voice the earliest, "Lo-look man, we don't know, Pietro took off with her."  
  
"He-he's telling the truth, Lance," spoke Bobby shakily, "You know sure as hel-hell we wouldn't hurt her."  
  
Tabby took this moment to enter the conversation, "He right, Bobby's head-over-heels for her. He wouldn't lie `bout this."  
  
Bobby's blush revealed his secret, and Lance took a moment to study him. He then shoved Scott back into the lockers and let him go, not looking very happy about it either. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground. Freddy, looking disappointed, dropped both Evan and Bobby.  
  
Lance seethed silently for a moment, while Scott regained his breath from his crouched position Lance's attacked had left him in.  
  
When Scott finally regained use of his legs he stood shakily, when Lance poked him, non too gently, in the chest, "If she's not back before the days up. And Pietro has no fucking clue as to what you're talking about, I'll kill you."  
  
"Ya know mah life would be perfect, if y'all would just stop talkin' behind mah back."  
  
The seven in the hall, because by now every one had gone into the cafeteria, turned to see an annoyed Rogue being supported by a very cautious looking Pietro.  
  
She turned to face he current crutch, "Thank ya, Petey. But Ah'm fine now."  
  
He slowly let go of her, while she did a small turn to prove her health. Pietro reluctantly moved away muttering, "Some-girls-think-that-they're-lucky-when-they're-in-my-arms."'  
  
It took Bobby a second to register the fact that she was no longer wearing the same outfit that she was before. Now she wore a pair of tight black jeans and a tight, light blue long-sleeved shirt, and of course, the black leather gloves.  
  
It took him and Evan another minute to release that both of their mouths were hanging open at the fact that she no longer wore gothic make-up and looked, to say the least, extremely hot.  
  
"Wha-what happened?" questioned Evan.  
  
"Well, Ah passed out, Pietro freaked and in some desperate need ta wake me, felt the need to douse me in water."  
  
"I have my own reasons," he smiled sending her a wink.  
  
"Where'd you get the clothes?"  
  
"They're some of the one's Ah left at tha Brotherhood house. What?" she questioned looked down at herself, "Do Ah look bad?"  
  
"Not at all, your damn fi-" he didn't get a chance to finish, Toad cut him off.  
  
"Yo, you sure you're ok?" questioned Todd.  
  
"Ah'm fine Toddy," she sighed. She really did hate all the attention this was getting her.  
  
"Well, good, `cause I'm missin' lunch," Fred stated turning toward the cafeteria followed by Todd. Tabby sent Rogue a small smile, while Pietro looked her over with a mixture of concern and desire in his eyes, then they turned to follow their other two teammates.  
  
Scott moved to check Rogue himself, but before he could take two steps Lance roughly grabbed his arm, "I need to speak with her, you can wait."  
  
Scott was about to say something, but Rogue quickly stopped any argument, "Don't worry Scott. Ah need ta speak with him anyway."  
  
Scott looked back and forth between the two, his gaze unable to be seen, he finally nodded his head and turned to leave, pausing only to call Bobby and Evan to follow. They paused for a moment, when a thought hit Bobby. The marks were no longer on Rogue's neck, and Lance had gently grabbed her forearm to lead her away, the one she'd previously had the scratches on. And she didn't even flinch.  
  
He turned, so deep in thought, he'd barely noticed entering thr cafeteria and the other teenage X-men as the barraged the three in questions.  
  
  
  
Lance had led her through the school hall out to the open air of the parking lot, the entire walk in silence.  
  
He paused by his jeep and pulled out a cigarette, he was about to lit it when he remembered something. Rogue hated when he smoked, something about her past, the smell made he sick. He threw the unlit ciggy into the interior of his car; he'd smoke it later.  
  
He looked at his former-teammate, and a gracious look crossed her face. "So," he started, a conversation evaded him for a moment.  
  
"Ya know ya didn't havta attack Scott like that," her gaze suddenly turned disapproving, and he desperately wished it would change back.  
  
"I had my reasons," he now wished he'd not thrown the cigarette in the car, `he took you from me-us. Not me, us, the Brotherhood,' he mentally corrected himself.  
  
An uncomfortable silence followed.  
  
"Rogue," she looked at him, "What happened?"  
  
"Ah-ah don't know," she confessed.  
  
"If it's something that the geeks are..."  
  
"It's not," she cut him off hastily. "Believe me it has nuthin' ta do with them."  
  
"I know, but if they ever," she sent him a look, but he continued anyway, "If, if they do, you our doors always open."  
  
"Ah know," the gracious smile returned and Lance chalked himself up one mental point. "Ah gotta get back ta tha lunchroom, or Scott gunna spasm." They shared a short-lived laugh, and Rogue placed her hand gently on his crossed arms, "Thanks Lance, fa tha concern."  
  
She turned to leave, but Lance hadn't even began torturing her, "You know he like you," he called.  
  
She spun around, but did not come closer, "Who?"  
  
"Summers," he stated sarcastically, though he knew it wasn't a complete lie, "Bobby, you know, Drake?" but then again Lance couldn't name one guy out of all the teenage X-men, or Brotherhood for that matter, that didn't have a crush on her, or at least once did.  
  
"Why does evary body tell me that?" she questioned smiling.  
  
" `Cause it's so obvious," he replied, returning her smile.  
  
"Ya know, Ah lost me since of touch, not sight," she joked back, "Ah can tell when a guy likes me."  
  
She turned and walked away again, just as he whispered, "Then why couldn't you tell that I did." He shook his head, and climbed into his jeep. His afternoon classed forgotten as Rogue entered the doors to the school. He picked up the cigarette he'd previously despised of. He glared down at it, as if it were the reason he wasn't with Rogue. Grumbling he crushed it in his hand and threw it over his shoulder as he started the jeep.  
  
He just missed Rogue return to the doors, and peer through glossy eyes at the back of the dust billows, "Don't ya see, Lance. Ah did know." She again turned and walked down the hall. An overly distressed Kitty and Bobby met her half way, finally getting permission from Scott to go see what was taking so long.  
  
  
  
Wow, that's probably the longest chapter I've ever written.  
  
Ok, one thing, it will be a looong while before I update again. One of my grandmothers is in the hospital and I have to go visit her, I won the Science Fair at my school (God kill me I'm a geek!), second place, just behind my rival (Damn you Chris), and I have to get ready for districts, sooooooo annoying.  
  
PS: I still need help with couples, so far it's pretty much a three-way tie.  
  
Next Chap: find out what's up with Rogue.  
  
THANK YOU: to Phoenix Angel Suyari for introducing me to my muse, I took your first suggestion instead of Lance, cause I'm pretty sure someone else has already picked him. 


	3. After School Special

Bobby's POV  
  
  
  
He was worried. Worried and angry. Though not at the same person.  
  
He was, of course, worried about Rogue. She, for the second time that day, had been hurt, and he could do nothing to stop it. Her injuries baffled him, and he wanted nothing more than to be there for her, he wanted to be the shoulder she cried on/ He already knew it was selfish, but he couldn't help it, he cared for her, deeply.  
  
And he was angry at Scott. Scott had made him go to street hockey practice, even when he knew that Bobby wanted to be with Rogue. He'd said that not letting Rogue out of his sight wouldn't help matter much. That, besides, HE would keep a watch on her.  
  
Bobby trusted Scott in the Danger Room, and just about every where else, but when it came to Rogue, no one, in his eyes, could do any better than he himself.  
  
He was in pain too, and the only reason he didn't run all the way home was because he'd hurt his leg, not badly enough to stop him from playing, but enough to make him limp. He cursed himself for being out of it, but his mind was on other things, more important things. Normally, he rocked at hockey; it was after all his sport. Though he preferred ice hockey to street any day.  
  
When one can turn one's self into ice, one usually will prefer it over the alternative. But, Bobby loved it for another reason. It was the only sporting event any of the X-men (or soon to be X-men) participated in that Rogue would attend. At the games and practices, it would be to cold to wear anything short of jeans and a sweatshirt and she didn't have to be so cautious around others.  
  
Sure the other guys would hit on Rogue, but he knew that she was there for him, and that made him very happy.  
  
He was past the gate now and the Mansion was in view, that was when he'd heard it. A scream, so full of terror that Bobby immediately threw off his bag and, ignoring his leg, ran full speed up the drive.  
  
  
  
Jean's POV  
  
  
  
She didn't know what was the matter. She'd seen Rogue walking home by herself, which was in itself weird because Scott hadn't let Rogue out of his sight unless he had to, and decided to walk home with her.  
  
They'd started talking and they were actually getting along.  
  
Then she'd suggested it.  
  
That maybe Rogue would like to go to Duncan's party that Friday. She'd declined, but Jean persisted that she needed to get a social life, Rogue said she didn't need one. It was just too dangerous to have one, especially with her power.  
  
But Jean just wouldn't let it go, then she really blew it.  
  
The conversation was temporarily forgotten as Rogue slammed the door in her face, but with a simple hand motion, it was open again.  
  
"Look, Rogue, all I said was 'it not like we're that different.'" Jean tried to explain.  
  
"Ya don't get it, Jean, we're completely different," Rogue replied quit calmly for herself.  
  
"How so?" Jean continued, "We're both female teenage mutants, that have the same troubles and worries…"  
  
That was when she'd realized her mistake.  
  
Rogue whirled around, anger and pain written legibly on her face.  
  
"The same worries?" she hissed. "What do you worry about Jean, gettin' a 97 on a paper? Oh Ah know, missin' the goal that'd put ya'll up by five points. Right? Ya wanta know what I worry about? Oh Mah God, he almost touched me! He coulda gotten' himself killed. Oh shit! Too many people, Ah'm goin' hurt one!"  
  
"I'm sorry Ro…"  
  
"If you think we're anythang alike, you're dead wrong."  
  
With that she turned on her heel and walked up the stairs.  
  
Suddenly she paused, and concern filled Jean's mind.  
  
Then she paused; fear glued her to the spot. Three small dots of red were slowly growing on her gothic companions back.  
  
Then Logan ran in.  
  
  
  
Logan's POV  
  
  
  
He thought it was funny. He was sitting in the next room looking over a book on torture sessions, I mean yoga sessions, when Rogue had come in, slamming the door shut, and stomping angrily up the stairs. Jean had come in not seconds later, and rushing out a bunch of words he couldn't quit catch. Rogue had then turned on Jean and yelled something about killing someone and daily problems.  
  
They were at it again; he couldn't get two minutes of peace when those two were in the same room. He secretly wished Rogue would sock Jean and just shut her up. But of course, Rogue wouldn't because, unlike Jean, she knew when to pick her fights and when to let things go.  
  
Then everything went quite, and that made Logan uncomfortable.  
  
Then the smell came.  
  
Blood.  
  
He'd know it anywhere.  
  
And not just anyone's blood, Rogue's blood.  
  
He knew this because, like every person has a distinct smell, their blood does too.  
  
He was up in a matter of second and running full force into the foyer, claws still retracted.  
  
Rogue was halfway up the stairs, her body seemed frozen to the spot, while Jean was positioned at the bottom of the stairs, and she too was paralyzed to the spot. Logan's gaze fell upon Rogue's lower back, where three small dots of red were rapidly growing into slits and larger.  
  
Rogue was able to move before Jean and slowly turned around to face him. Instead of the expected fear on her face, there was an apologetic one. Logan finally tore his eyes from her face long enough to inspect the wound which seemed to originate from the front.  
  
Three red slits each about an inch long and an inch apart were piercing her midriff. The blood on her light blue shirt was rapidly growing; something about that wound made him fell very queasy.  
  
He found his legs suddenly as his parental instinct took over. With a metallic shink his claws were out and he found the reason Rogue's wounds made him fell the way he did.  
  
  
  
His claws, three metal slits, each about an inch long and an inch apart.  
  
He was very aware of Jean's screaming, but he felt lost in a swirl of blackness, he didn't hurt Rogue.  
  
Did he?  
  
No, he didn't. Logan ran to Rogue as she passed out and caught her just as Bobby broke threw the door. Logan was sure that if it wasn't unlocked that Bobby would have broken down to splinters.  
  
He ran wildly toward the MedLab yelling to Hank to get down there and quick, Bobby following him the entire way.  
  
When he reached the doors he laid Rogue down and briefly touched her bare face long enough for the holes in her stomach to close.  
  
He was sure that Hank saw it and was half-aware of him as he pushed Logan and Bobby out of the room, but his mind was a million miles away. An unknown feeling was slowly creeping into his heart.  
  
Was this fear?  
  
  
  
OK, I know no Pietro in this chapter, but believe me he'll be in the next one; he plays a VERY key role.  
  
Oh ya, I think I said Rogue's injuries would be explained in this chapter, but, um hehe, they aren't. The NEXT chapter, I SWEAR!  
  
BAZZER  
  
PS  
  
So Lance is pretty much out of the running but Bobby (3) and Pietro (12) are really close. Ok so maybe not that close, but hey I like both couples, so there! I honestly don't know who to pair her with. 


End file.
